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Best time ever

--What is Glastonbury Festival?--

Well I'm sure everyone has heard of Glastonbury Festival and many of you will have been lucky enough to attend at some point over the years, many of you probably go every year as it seems that catching the Glastonbury 'bug' is fairly common. I went to my first Glastonbury last year and definitely caught the bug. I can't wait till June so that I can go again as there's just so much to do there that it's literally impossible to see and do it all by just going once. I'm certainly no expert after one year but I do hope that you find something useful in this review/guide to the festival.

Anyway, back to my original question...what is Glastonbury Festival? Basically, Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. It is organised and held by Somerset farmer Michael Eavis, and his daughter Emily now organises it with him. Since 2002 a lot of the festival management has been done by Festival Republic. The profits are shared between Festival Republic and Michael Eavis' company (who give a lot of it to charity).

Most of the staff at the festival are volunteers; a lot are from various charities, and then some of them volunteer as it allows them free entry into the festival in exchange for some work.

Glastonbury covers over 900 acres of land and I would describe it as five days of music, laughter, wonderfulness, weirdness, once-in-a-lifetime fun and generally the most surreal time ever. Around 180,000 people currently attend (in the first year it was 1,500 so it has grown massively).

The first Glastonbury Festival was held in 1970 (and T-Rex headlined, I wish I had been alive!) and there have been 31 Festivals in total.

--Where is it held?--

Glastonbury Festival is held in the village of Pilton, Somerset. Pilton is very near the small town of Glastonbury, which is clearly where the festival derives its name from. More specifically, the festival is held at Worthy Farm, which is a dairy farm for most of the year. Every few years there is no Glastonbury Festival, in order to give the place a bit of a rest! I think there tends to be four years on and one year off.

--When is it held?--

Glastonbury Festival is currently held on the last weekend of June. This year it will be 25th -29th June.

It lasts from the Wednesday until the Sunday, and it's time to go home on the Monday morning.

--The music--

The Festival has many, many stages; most of which will show musical acts on them at some point during the Festival. There are a LOT of musical acts to choose from, and there is bound to be something there you will want to see (unless you don't like music in which case you probably wouldn't go!?) If anything the issue is not being able to see everything you want as there's just too much and the sheer size of the festival means it can take a while to get from one place to another.

Unlike smaller festivals where there will be just one or two 'main stages', Glastonbury has several stages which are classed as main, and these all feature well-known (and often massively big and famous) bands or singers.

Probably the biggest three main stages, along with some of the acts that have graced them over the years are:

*The Pyramid Stage - although there are several main stages, this is probably the one people think of as the biggest - and it is where most of the biggest bands will be playing. The top of the stage is shaped like a pyramid, hence its name, and the standing area in front of it is massive, and goes uphill, so that even if you're stood at the back you can get some kind of view of the stage. Last year some of the bands I saw on the Pyramid Stage included The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal and Mumford & Sons. Other big names who have played this stage in the past include U2, Coldplay, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder and Elbow.

*The Other Stage - this is another big, main stage, which will normally have really big and well-known acts playing too. Past acts include Kaiserchiefs, Primal Scream and Queens of the Stoneage.

*John Peel Stage - this one is in a tent and quite a bit smaller (still big though!) Florence and the Machine have played on this stage before, as well as Groove Armada and Mumford & Sons.

As I said, these are probably the biggest but there are several other 'main stages' including:

*West Holts Stage

*The Park Stage (Introduced by Emily Eavis in 2007)

*Avalon Stage

--Other entertainment/things to do--

Music is by no means the only entertainment available at Glastonbury. There are many different themed areas and each one contains different stages and/or things to see and do. We managed to see most areas of the festival last year, with it being our first visit we really wanted to see as much as possible. Some of them we just saw briefly or walked through as, like I said, there's so much. Some of the parts of the festival are:

*Left Field - here you can find entertainment such as comedy, music and debates! I didn't really see much of this, as I said it was impossible to do everything! I will definitely try and go this year though.

*The Green Fields - this included things like the healing fields and the kids field. I liked this bit as it had such a 'hippy' vibe and was so colourful and chilled out and there was loads of weird and wonderful things happening.

*William's Green - I remember this area for nice food! It has an old fashioned village feel to it and there are several food stalls selling yummy produce. It's a good area to just relax and eat.

*Glastonbury hill - I've just named it this; it's not actually called that. This doesn't sound that entertaining, but there's a hill there with big letters spelling out 'Glastonbury' and you can see it from quite far away (like the Hollywood sign but better). It was a bit of a trek for us as it was at the other side of the festival from where we were camping, and then there's the actual hill bit to walk up. However we went up there at least three times as it's so amazing to be able to see pretty much the whole festival! We ended our time there by taking some fire-wood, beers, pizza and chairs up there on the last night and sitting round a fire whilst just watching the festival. It was the perfect way to end an amazing weekend.

There are loads of other areas but this is all I can really remember, there's so much to cram into one trip and it's impossible to do or remember everything!

--Food and drink--

A great thing about Glastonbury Festival is that, unlike other festivals I have attended, you are permitted to take your own food and drink anywhere. The whole place is just one big open thing, there's no point where you leave the campsite and enter the arena and therefore aren't allowed your own alcohol, for example. This works out much cheaper when it comes to drinking in particular, but when it came to food I decided to buy most of it there to save on the amount I had to take to the festival with me (I live in York, it was a long trip!) Also it's nice to have something hot to eat, and I had been told that food prices were less extortionate that they are at other festivals because people bring their own, so they can't get away with it.

The prices of food are still fairly expensive, but there is a massively wide range to choose from and there is some really tasty stuff on offer. Last year I took a little bit of food (just snacks) and bought most of my meals there. This year I think I'll just buy all my food there as there's so much choice that I will be able to eat different things at every meal if I want.

There was the usual food I expected such as burgers, chips, fish and chips, hotdogs, pizzas, and various Chinese food. Then there were the other things like Caribbean food stalls, bakeries, and my personal favourite: halloumi cones. I already can't wait to have a halloumi cone this year! It's a wrap made into a cone and filled with salad, garlic mayo and fried halloumi. Actually divine! My other favourite thing to eat was the pizza as it was fresh, stone baked, and incredibly tasty. Despite the amount of walking I did whilst I was there it came as no surprise to me that I did gain a few pounds over the weekend, but I was treating it like a holiday so I will inevitably do the same this year! I'd say the average takeaway meal cost was £6-£10.

I didn't buy any drinks at all there apart from bottled water, as I took a lot of vodka and Pepsi Max with me and then every day I made sure I had plenty of both soft and alcoholic drinks packed in my bag. A couple of my friends bought a few ciders (they said with us being in Somerset it'd be rude not to - but not for me as I hate cider) and I think it was about £4 a drink so probably what you would expect. In general though, most of us took our own drinks. The bottles of water I was buying were £1 each and were needed as it was so hot.

--The camping--

As I mentioned before, there is no point where you leave the camping area and get to the arena, the whole thing is just open. This means you can camp a lot closer to stages and things that at other festivals I have attended. We camped right near the John Peel Stage. Of course, whatever you're near, the festival is so big that walking a lot is inevitable, but it's definitely better to camp near-ish to at least some of the action. That said, with us it was more a case of getting what we could as there was a biggish group of us and all the space starts filling up really quickly.The campsites are well maintained and people seem to be better at not spreading as much litter as I've seen as other festivals. One rule I like is that people are not permitted to urinate anywhere, except in the toilets. At other festivals people (mainly men) just do it anywhere, especially when they've had a drink. It's a strict rule and you can be thrown out if you get caught. It's bad for the land and also disgusting!

On that subject, I will move onto the toilets. These are inevitably vile, especially after the first couple of days. There are loads of blocks of toilets, so you will never be too far from some whether you're at the tent or out and about. They are metal cubicles and there's a very long drop underneath them! They stink and people can be quite messy and disgusting in them sometimes. Anyway, just typing this is making me want to vomit, so I'll leave that subject now!

Another thing the campsites have are water taps and sinks, which are pretty clean, and the water tastes nice too. The only showers are a few in the Kidz Field and in the Greenpeace field so most people rely on dry shampoo and baby wipes to see them through!

--The weather--

Of course Glastonbury is famous for being wet and muddy. I've only been once, in 2013, and the weather was glorious. It rained once, but not enough to ruin the ground, however I think we were very lucky with this! I'm already presuming it will rain this year because surely there can't a sunny, dry weekend two years in a row?!?!

This said, it is right in the South of the country, and it's held in Summer so you'd think there's a chance of sun? But let's face it, we're in England, and no-one can predict the weather, ever.

--The general vibe/atmosphere--

I found the atmosphere much nicer than it can be at other festivals. Most people are friendly and chatty, and generally really happy to be there. There is a massive mix of people there too. There are all different ages, from children to older people who when you speak to them have normally been going for many years.

The sunshine helped the atmosphere a lot last year too and there are so many colourful things there that I found it impossible not to be happy.

The overall vibe I got was that the place and the people were just so relaxed and chilled out and that basically...anything goes!

--Ticket prices and availability--

Prior to buying a Glastonbury ticket you must register on the site. Registration closes before the tickets come on sale so you need to register earlier on in the year. The deadline for registration changes so it's worth checking this and making sure you do it in time. When registering you provide your basic details, address, and a photo of yourself. Then when you get your ticket it will have your photo and address on it to try and make sure people only buy one ticket and don't sell them on.

Tickets for Glastonbury come on sale in the October prior to the festival, and at the time of buying one you are only required to pay a £50 deposit. The balance of the ticket is due the following April. This is a way to help people pay for their ticket and means you can secure a ticket even you don't have all the money available in the October.

If you pay the deposit and then choose not to pay the balance when April comes around you are refunded your deposit (less an admin fee, which was £10 last year, I'm not sure how much this year).

The balance of the ticket includes both the booking fee and postage and last year the entire cost (including the deposit) was just over £200 - it was about £206. It's hard to recall the exact figure as we paid as a group and split the postage cost and I can't remember how many of us did this. This rises slightly most years but not by much. Having said that, back in 1970 tickets were priced at £1!!

The availability of the tickets is a very small window of time and you are by no means guaranteed to get one even if you start trying the second they come on sale. We were very lucky this time. The group of us who are going together all met at up with our laptops so that we could all try together as soon as the tickets became available. Most of us just couldn't even get onto the website due to the volume of traffic but one of my friends got straight through and bought the tickets about three minutes after they came on sale. You can buy up to eight at a time and as there are ten of us he then managed to get back in and buy the additional two tickets straight after. We have no idea how he managed to get through twice in a row so quickly but we felt really lucky (and smug!) It was much more stressful last year, it took ages to get them but again we were very lucky to succeed in the end.

In April, when the time comes to pay the balance, some people will inevitably forget to pay it/be too skint/change their mind and not bother. This means there will be a second wave of the leftover tickets available to buy then. However, it's a much smaller amount and there will be many people who were left disappointed last time all trying their luck again, so it'll be competitive.

--Contacting Glastonbury--

Most of the questions you could need to ask are on the Glastonbury Festival website (http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/), a very useful source absolutely full of ticket info, FAQs, planning your journey help and much more. Also on the website you will find the full line-up, once it has been announced, and loads of interesting bits about the history of the festival including past line-ups.

I have actually had to ring the Glastonbury ticket line once though as last year I purchased a car park ticket, and then we didn't need it as most of us piled in my friend's big people carrier and he already had a ticket. I rang to see if I could have a refund and because it was within a certain timeframe I was allowed this no problem. The man I spoke to was so helpful and friendly and pretty indicative of what Glastonbury Festival is like! Even their staff who spend all day on the phone speaking to stupid people like me are happy and friendly!

--Getting there, transport & parking--

There are dedicated buses which leave from several places in the country and take you to the festival, there is obviously the option to drive, and the train is an option too.

We chose to drive and probably will do every time we go. We live in York so it's a long journey for us. We did consider the bus and even the train, but really didn't fancy hauling all our stuff around with us on public transport. Not only that but even with the cost of petrol and parking driving did work out cheaper for us as we took three cars between ten of us, and shared the costs equally. It worked out at about £35 each, which wasn't too bad at all to say how far away it is for us.

We set off at midnight (it was such an exciting adventure!), as we needed to get there early the next morning. We originally planned to stay in a nearby hotel the night before and then just travel over in the morning; I can't remember why we changed our minds! Anyway we arrived about 6:30am which was what we were aiming for.

When we got near the festival it was well signposted but there were different directions for different entrances. We didn't have a clue which we should pick, never having been there so we chose at random.

When we got parked we joined the queue (which was massive) and waited ages to get into the festival itself, then walked for absolutely ages with all our heavy things. I have no idea if we would have been better to choose a different entrance, probably not as I imagine it would all result in a lot of walking. I think this year we will choose to go in at the other side just in case. To be honest part of camping at a festival is the queuing and the waiting and the walking for ages with all the stuff. It's one of the only bad things.

Parking is ample but you do have to purchase a parking ticket in advance. These cost £25 last year which isn't too bad really to say you are parking for about five days.

--My opinions/experience--

As I said, I've only been once (last year) and it was one of the best times I've ever had. I think the best thing about Glastonbury festival is the sheer amount of things there are to do and see. There's far more than you could physically get done in one festival.

Personally my favourite part, apart from the music, was the hippy area! The lads who were with us hated it but it was my favourite. It was so colourful and just strange and surreal. There were people making things (such as carving spoons out of wood) and just the most weird sights everywhere (such as a man playing a piano whilst also cycling - it was a bike and piano in one - whilst a person dressed as leopard laid over the top of it).

Another great thing about Glastonbury Festival is that it's guaranteed that there will be some music for everyone, as there's such a mix and such a wide range. There are all the different genres playing and the festival brings in top names every year.

There's so much more than music too, other non-musical highlights of my time last year included taking part in a ginormous game of twister, seeing Bruce Forsythe, and watching some fantastic circus performers and magicians.

As I mentioned before, one nice thing about Glastonbury is the chilled atmosphere and the fact that everyone is so friendly. Obviously there are also people there to ruin it and we did get Police visiting all campers to warn us of people stealing from tents. However this, unfortunately, will always be the case everywhere.

The only two bad things are the toilets and the walking with all your stuff/queuing to get in. This is part of a festival though and is in inevitable when camping.

Overall, my opinion is that Glastonbury is a time for relaxing, fun, yummy food, amazing music, and more entertainment and things to do than you could ever want! It's amazing.

--Glastonbury 2014 line-up rumours and confirmed acts!--

One thing that surprises some people is the fact that tickets get sold out without anyone actually knowing what the line-up will be. The thing is there is so much more than just music so people obviously buy tickets knowing they will have an amazing time regardless of who plays. As always there are several rumours of who might play this year but the official line-up won't be announced until nearer the time.

Here are a few of this year's rumours...

Fleetwood Mac were a rumour, but festival organiser Michael Eavis has stated they will not be playing, however he has said maybe in 2015. To be honest when John McVie was diagnosed with cancer it seemed less likely they would play as obviously there are more important priorities for them at the moment. I would absolutely love to see them in the future though.Foo Fighters have been rumoured too. I seriously hope this is true. They are one of the last remaining bands out of my favourites who I have never seen and nothing could make me look forward to Glastonbury more than I already am then the thought of being is some kind of proximity to Dave Grohl.

Arcade Fire have been confirmed to headline on the Friday night this year. I'm not massively pleased about this but I know quite a few people who are! They're a good band I'm just not a huge fan.

Lily Allen has also confirmed she will perform at the festival this year (I thought she had retired from music but she must be back).

Kasabian are the latest band to be rumoured as headliners. It doesn't seem that there is a lot of substance behind this rumour, for all I know the Daily Mail just made it up! It could turn out to be true though.

The other acts who I've heard many times on the Glastonbury rumour grapevine this year are:

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The time of your life

*I will be reviewing the festival as someone who camped at Glastonbury, I have not experienced tee-pee's or the wooden village at the festival*

People from all over the world travel to Glastonbury festival, the biggest and no doubt the best performing arts festival in the world.

Started in 1970 with only 1,500 people in attendance the festival has grown to hold around 175,000 people and attract some of the biggest names in music. My first (and only) experience with the festival was 2009 which was headlined by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Blur, Neil Young, Prodigy, Lilly Allen, Ray Davies (and many, many more). In short, it was amazing.

With around forty friends and acquaintances going with me, we booked our own coach and left from Liverpool at around 5am on the Wednesday morning, hoping to arrive at the festival early afternoon to set up but due to the ridiculous traffic we actually got to the festival around 6/7pm. Even this didn't dampen the fun and the quick entrance into the festival was a welcome bonus.

Once in the festival you can camp in whatever camping zone you like (there is loads of space if you get there on the Wednesday and many areas to choose from). To explain how big the festival is, some of my friends who have been three times and explored have still not seen the whole festival such is the size (and that you always see something/someone interesting to slow you down) so resist the temptation to camp as soon as you get in and consider which stage you are likely to spend the most time around then camp a quick walking distance from there.

Now you're ready for the festival. Barring absolute disaster you will be looking at the time of your life with a very happy and easy going feeling all around the farm; I didn't see as much as an argument the whole time I was there and considering its predominantly English people drinking all day, this is some achievement. There is more than enough to keep everyone entertained with the farm separated in to different areas to cater for different people or different moods that you may be in. There are obviously the main stages which from Friday to Sunday will feature big name, famous acts from around midday to midnight, but also many other smaller stages offering entertainment form Wednesday -Sunday in forms of music and other performing arts. There are limitless food stands which will cater for all tastes, a 'jam-tent' where you can get up and play yourself, face painting, 'The Shangrila' (words cannot describe this place, flamethrowers playing music, double-decker party busses, hall of mirrors, tattoo bars, aliens on stilts) and even things such as a cinema tent, a phone charging tent (expect a long queue) and this year, a big screen to show live world cup matches. The Glastonbury site suggests that the best way to make the most of the festival is not to spend all day moving around and this I fully agree with. Sure, if there's a few acts that you really want to see you should go and find them, but otherwise you can go and chill out in one place for a couple of hours at a time THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENING! I still have not even covered 1% of what is on offer, but I have to move on some time.

Before going the festival I was quite worried about not being able to shower, particularly with it being in the summer and with me camping in a field! Let me tell you, nobody notices. As everyone is in the exact same situation there is no judging and you end up forgetting about it yourself (you can still use the taps to wash your hair/face and brush your teeth, and bring wet wipes for anywhere else), and there are also showers available for those who cannot resist, but expect a queue. The toilets admittedly are horrendous, especially as the days go on, but take an imodium and extra toilet roll in your bag and be in and out as quick as possible.

As for things to take with you the main thing is do not worry, they sell everything you can think of there (and many people will give you theirs for free such is the atmosphere). They sell toilet roll, sun cream, lighters, alcohol, milk, food, clothes, legal highs, even tents! Do not worry.

The price of alcohol and food is typical of what you'd expect from a London bar, or London food stand (£3.50 a pint, £5 for burger+chips or similar meal) although the festival does allow you to take your own food and drink in as long as its not in glass bottles, so I suggest you take advantage of this whilst remembering you have to carry it.

Go with an open mind and let the festival spirit take you, and regardless of what acts you like/dislike, I promise you'll have the time of your life.

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With plenty to do and see, this festival earns the right to be named the best festival in the UK.

The Glastonbury Festival is one of the most iconic places to visit during the summer, with fields upon fields of stages, tents, flags, stalls, bands, poets, and of course the odd celebrity thrown in for good measure. Set in the countryside of South West England, this has to be the best festival that the UK has to offer. Living in the midlands, I have been to the V festival a number of times, and I thought that that was pretty good (and being only 20 minutes from home was excellent), but then being able to go to Glastonbury with a load of mates (we were extremely lucky to all get tickets) just put the whole festival scene into perspective.

There is very little commercial about it, most of the food and drink that you can buy is locally sourced and produced, including the cracking scrumpy cider that they have!! The sheer size of the place should be enough to put people off, but this adds to the atmosphere. Where else can you get 50,000 people in one field dancing along to the sounds of Bob Marley? Exactly!

The main "Pyramid Stage" and "The Other Stage" are set backing up to each other, so the noise from one doesn't drown out the other, which is impeccable at a festival. Each stage can easily fit 80,000 plus people into it's vicinity with enough room to drink that scrumpy with as much comfort as your own front room.

As well as the music, there are plenty of other things to do to keep young and old amused such as childrens fields including bodger and badger, arts, crafts, henna tattoist's, comedy, jazz, poetry, the list is endless.

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The best festival bar none!

Glastonbury Festival, 40 years old in 2010, is a national institution. But is it worth the title of best festival in the world?

Well, its certainly the biggest in the UK, in capacity and in size. The sheer scale of it is mind blowing, and when viewed from one of the surrounding hills at night, there is no other way to describe than a small town glowing with a myriad of lights. With loads of stages, tents, stalls and fields there is to much to explore in one weekend, literally.

The music itself is always excellent, with an eccletic mix of old and new, with many bands looking to make headlines with extra special performances. The iconic pyramid stage is an excellent venue, built at the bottom of a natural ampitheatre.

Besides the music, there's circus tents, hippy fields, relaxing green hills to lie in, interesting food stalls and activities galore, for young and old. The vibe is excellent, and amenities are surprising good, with many stands to help a lost or confused festival goer.

The ill-fated weather should not dampen most people if your in the right frame of mind, and as long as you camp on one of the hills, flooding will not be a problem.

So simply, Glastonbury is the best festival in the world and nothing should stop you from coming to this wondeful place at the end of June.

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If you've never been, you've got to go!

I'm a big fan of my live music & had done most of the major UK festivals such as V, Reading & Leeds and the Isle of Wight but Glastonbury was the one exception I had not managed to go until I got the opportunity last year.

Well what can I say, the whole experience is so difficult to sum into worlds, it was so different to any festival I'd been to before. Music was only a part of what Glastonbury had to offer, there was so much more besides.

When you arrive at the site, you will notice just how large the whole thing is is & will be spoiled for choice on where to camp. All the camping is merged in with the festival and not in a seperate areas like most other festivals, so you can camp next to the area you think you'll be spending the most time at. Beware though as the most popular spots are usually packed within a few hours of the gates opening.

As well as the great music on offer, there is a massive green fields area with all sorts of interesting activities & demonstrations taking place with a green twist. You can almost spend the whole festival in this vast area. Other highlights include the comedy, theatre, cabra & cinema areas where there's always something interesting to see & do.

My personal favourite area is the stone circle which is very popular with people to go & watch the sunset & sunrise, due to the magnificant views on offer from where its located.

I was so impressed by the whole thing in 2008, that I had to go again this year and there was loads of new stuff to discover. The music was fab as always with superb sets from the likes of Madness, Lily Allen, Lady Ga Ga, Bruce Springsteen & Blur closing the festival of in wonderful style on the Sunday night.

If you've never been before & even if you're not a big fan of music festivals, I'd still recommend Glastonbury, it's so much more than a music festival, it's just like a whole magical world of it's own!

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Incredible atmosphere, great bands...what more could you want from a weekend?

One INCREDIBLE festival. On arriving, it was a case of trying to find a stop to camp and considering that we arrived late thursday night, we were lucky enough to find a spot fairly near the pyramid stage, altho sadly on a hill so we were tipping downwards when sleeping! However, the mud, the discomfort and the toilets are all worth it when the music starts. And what a line-up! So many bands, so many tents and what an incredible incredible atmosphere. Every1 loves the music and there's nothing like standing in a field with 20,000 other people who love the same band as much as you do. Blur was my highlight, a set full of hope and nostalgia, and I had tears in my eyes as the festival closed with their set. Other highlights were Bruce Springsteen, one incredible artist, Lily Allen, who was unbelievably cool, Lady Gaga who was must amusing for all the wrong reasons and Dizzee Rascal. A festival like no other and the areas away from the music are equally mind blowing as the sets. If you get the chance, GO and go over any other festival as it truly is the best in the world.

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Great festival.

Glastonbury 2009. This is my review of it based on the experience i had (Its so big, so many people will have different experiences)

Ok so we arrived on the friday, which is strange because you usually stay from the wednesday until the monday. The traffic on the way in was minimal.

We were directed to the car park and we parked up, got all the gear out of the car and carried it to a field already full of tents (they had already been there 48 hours) so we had to find a decent spot to put it up in. It was quite easy to find a place to camp. We got all the gear into the tent then set off to see what was happening around the festival.

We wandered through dancing men playing violins, a life sized robot which was squirting everyone with water, a man 3 times as big as me (he was on stilts) and people generally being eccentric and letting go.

Poeple are very friendly, at least the people i spoke to. The great thing is, is that the festival is split up into sections of almost mini festivals, where people gather, so for example, if you were into greenpeace and thier activities, there is a whole field full of people like you!

I spent most of my time in the 'other stage' area where lots of great bands played (Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maximo Park, The Prodigy, Pendulum, Bat for Lashes, Friendly Fires)

One of the highlights of the weekend was N.E.R.D. tearing up the pyramid stage. They were very entertaining but were cut short due to the festival wanting to keep to times. They were not happy and the whole crowd were chanting for them to carry on.

Another highlight for me was the weather, it was spot on most of the time, with only a few showers cropping in on the friday and sunday. Not bad at all.

I enjoyed the weekend very much. I learnt alot and would definately go again. I would recommend it to anyone. It really is a very cool place to be once a year and there are many great things to do, you will never be bored (and if you are, just open your eyes!)

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If you haven't been......GO.

Ok, so I've not done this sort of review before so I hope this is alright. I'm gonna take you through my experience of Glastonbury this year, which is my third in a row. I enjoyed it very much.

I travelled to Glastonbury this year with my good friend Andy, after last year's excursion on my own. We decided that it would be a good idea to get to the site nice and early as we like to camp by the Pyramid Stage....which is also close to Lulu's Cafe which has in the past always served up a mean Bacon butty in the morning.

GETTING THERE

We left the Isle Of Wight on Wednesday morning, catching the 5.45am ferry to Portsmouth. Once in Portsmouth we had opted to travel up on a National Express coach which did reduce the cost of travel considerably from the train. The coach took us to Heathrow, Andy had assured me that a cooked breakfast would be forthcoming there. On arrival we discovered that the National Express station area is nowhere near any eateries apart from a Cafe Nero. This made me slightly irritable, but I made do with some junk from the vending machine [great breakfast; a Cadbury's Caramel and a packet of McCoys crisps!].

We got the second leg of the coach journey from Heathrow to Glastonbury. The coach driver was rather 'official' for my liking and kept telling us the National Express coach policy over a microphone....like 'If I hear any musical devices, I will come and switch them off'. Some guy was gently tapping a Bongo drum....he was warned that this was unacceptable under 'National Express' guidelines.....shut yer face!.

The journey by road is massively long winded.....we didn't finally arrive until around 4pm. Its at these points when you think 'was this all really worth it?', but in the long run the answer is 'yes'.

Once on site we got to our favourite spot no problem, though by Wednesday 4pm the site was already pretty full baring in mind that the festival doesn't start until Friday. We got our tents up and I went and bought some essentials such as a torch and a pillow. These kind of things can be bought easily from one of the hundreds of tent shops. If it's your first time at Glastonbury the sheer size of the place is a bit overwhelming at first, but having been twice before I'd got over that a bit. I had a blind panic as I couldn't find my wallet.....it had fallen out of my pocket in the tent. If someone had nicked that I would have been sunk, luckily it was laying on the sleeping bag....

We made our way round to the Jazz World Stage [a great arena] to get some Brothers Pear Cider, by far the best pint to be had on site. Sadly the bar by the Jazz World Stage is now the only place on site where you can get this tipple after they got rid of the original Brothers Cider bus. The various pints of beer on sale Carling/Carlsberg etc taste grim. Watered down piss to be honest, when its £3.50 a pint that's no joke. We saw that the 'Cinema Field', an excellent place in the past, had now been replaced with the 'Pilton Palais' a Cinema tent in the field containing the Acoustic Stage. This did not sound good, and our fears were confirmed when we went to see the movie 'The Story of Anvil' only to discover that everyone else at Glastonbury had thought the same thing and the Cinema was packed out. The cinema field we were told was now used as a camping area for VIP and staff at the festival. That is not an improvement.....maybe for VIP/staff, not festival goers. The Field was much better. Can't remember whether it was Weds or Thurs night that Michael Jackson died, that was on every one's lips. We finished Wednesday with a well deserved rest, I went to sleep pretty easily.

THURSDAY

Thursday I awoke to find that I had been sleeping in an awkward position and was aching.....inflatable bed next year. I had also felt a bit cold so made it a mission to get myself a blanket for the next night. Andy and I frequented Lulu's expecting a tasty Bacon butty.......we were annoyed to be served up cold left overs and chose the 'Savoy Grill' down the hill for further meals. Lulu's WAS reliable for a decent cup of Tea though so we did keep popping over for a cup. Many of the bars were closed until Friday so a small trek was required to get that refreshing Pear Cider. The weather was a bit poor on the Thursday morning so during the shower I stayed in the tent, lots of resting and chatting and walking round the site was the order of the day on Thursday....and drinking Cider.

FRIDAY

At last!, the festival has actually started. I don't do drugs so for me Glastonbury is ALL about the music...I mark up my pocket guide in a really geeky way when I get into the site to check out all the stuff I want to see. Some people think this isn't the way to 'enjoy Glastonbury', each to their own though, that's the whole point of the festival, do your own thing. On Friday we started the day with some 'Bjorn Again' on the Pyramid stage, ABBA at 11 in the morning, Nice!. Then we headed over to the Jazz World Stage, got a Brothers, and checked out The Perceptions [former members of the James Taylor Quartet], very funky. Next it was over to 'The Glade' a stage set under some trees to see the 'Johnny Mars Band'. He used to be a member of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, I enjoyed his set but there was a bit too much of the crowd participation for my liking.......shout something out, get the crowd to shout back.......after a while it was like 'play some BLUES!'. We then caught 'Red Snapper' on the same stage, an instrumental dance band who I had not heard of before. Andy was a fan, and after hearing them, so was I!.

We headed back to the tent to chill catching a bit of Fleet Foxes and Lily Allen on route. I went over to the Jazz World Stage to catch some Steel Pulse. I've got to see some roots Reggae at Glasto....they played some classics from 'Handsworth Revolution'. I had a pint of Brothers and danced with a couple of hippies who singled me out......I spose I looked a bit 'square'. After a few Brothers though there's no problem!..........

Making my slightly drunken way back to the Pyramid Stage I realised that the Friday line-up had been slightly poor in my opinion. I passed the Other Stage where Lady Gaga was in full flow.....she asked the crowd after 'Poker Face'.....'I have a question for you Glastonbury........do you think I'm sexy?'.. to which a drunken woman I was passing yelled at the top of her voice; 'NO!!!!, YOU'RE A SLAG!!!' which kept me laughing back to the Pyramid.

I met up with Andy and we saw Neil Young, the Friday headliner on the Pyramid stage.....totally awesome. Really enjoyed it, we stood near some guys in their 50s who were obviously re-living their youth and kept coughing and hacking on the weed which they were smoking. We had a good sing song on few of the songs.

Afterwards Andy and I made our way up to the Green Fields area, a series of fields with labyrinthine tents and various bits and bobs. We stumbled into an area called 'Trash City' which had a series of structures which were not too dissimilar to an underground market/subway....pretty amazing the effort that goes into all this. I was refused entry to one of the parts of 'Trash City' as I have no Tattoos. Andy has several Tattoos and was granted entry....I stomped off and became slightly angry as I couldn't seem to find my way out of this part of the site. I asked a security guard who informed me that it was a one way system and I would have to go all the way round. I felt like Griffin Dunne in 'After Hours'......stumbling around looking at all the weird stuff that goes on after everywhere has closed down, and being strangely trapped in it.

I finally got back to Lulu's at about 5am and got a Veggie Burger and went to bed. Not sure what Andy got up to!.

SATURDAY

I awoke with a bit of a hangover on Saturday, and was determined to see more music. There had been all too much sitting about for my liking!. After breakfast of Bacon butty and cup of Tea we went to the Other Stage and saw the 'Broken Family Band' whose lead singer had a great laid back voice, then we went over to the Jazz World to see the legend that is.........Rolf Harris!. The stage was totally packed and Rolf rattled off his classics 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down', 'Waltzing Matilda' and his version of 'Stairway To Heaven!'. The crowd was going mental!... I found out later it was the biggest audience EVER at the Jazz World Stage. Afterwards Andy waited in line and got Rolf's autograph and a best of C.D.

I saw a bit of 'Eagles of Death Metal' on the Pyramid before the day's second highlight........Spinal Tap!. We laughed ourselves silly to 'Sex Farm' and 'Hell Hole'. 'Big Bottom' featured a nice cameo by Jarvis Cocker.....though the inclusion of Jamie Cullum on 'Short and Sweet' was a bit of a waste of time.

I went to see Pete Doherty on the Other Stage, while Andy went to see Horace Andy on the Park Stage. On reflection, I should have gone and checked out Horace.....Pete Doherty was rubbish. I quite liked The Libertines 2 albums, but most of his solo stuff has been quite poor.

After a bit of Don Letts spinning the records at The Glade, Andy and I went to see Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Pyramid headliners for Saturday night. Both of us are big fans of The Boss and were eager to see how he would fare. Bruce definitely delivered, playing for 2.5 Hours!. My favourites from the set were 'Out In The Street', 'No Surrender' [duet with the lead singer from The Gaslight Anthem] and the stuff off the 'Born To Run' album. It was all great though......the only problem was the sound which was a bit quiet in places, you couldn't always hear the instruments properly, but that seems to be a common problem with Bruce live. It didn't really hamper our enjoyment though, a great Saturday headliner!. I think we were pretty wiped after that and trudged back to our tents.

SUNDAY

Sunday was the best of the three days this year for me. The Pyramid line-up was excellent for the whole day.....perfect for lounging about and not moving much, which is what you want by Sunday. We started the day with the Easy Star All-Stars, a reggae band which performs reggae versions of famous albums. They've done Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon', Radiohead's 'Ok Computer' and now recently The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper'. They did the 'Sgt Pepper' album, a great chilled out start. Next we got in closer for Status Quo [I just reviewed their album Hello!], the band was a big success and were a perfect choice for Sunday midday.

After a short rest we heard Tony Christie from the tent and then went down to check out Amadou and Mariam, whose music gets everyone dancing. Its hard to describe their music....a sort of 'guitar pop', they're from Mali so its 'World Music', but highly accessible to a western audience. Another superb choice for the Pyramid.

Next was Tom Jones and several middle aged women pushed their way to the front!, he played songs from his new album which sounds like the best thing he's done in years. I particularly enjoyed 'She's a Lady' and 'Kiss' but he did a great version of EMF's 'Unbelievable'. Like Status Quo, Tom Jones may be considered naff by some, but I was having none of that. It's perfect for a festival crowd and Tom was superb.

We went back to the tent for a bit more of a kip [5 days under canvas with booze and burgers was beginning to take its toll], before returning for the final hurrah, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and then headliners Blur.

I love Nick Cave and the stuff off his recent 'Dig Lazarus Dig!!' album is excellent. He's clearly one of the musicians working today that you can rely on to come up with something 'interesting' even if you don't love it straight away. He's one of my heroes for sure.

Blur were my favourite band as a teenager and seeing them live at Glastonbury was my weekend highlight. I last saw them live at Bournemouth International Centre in December 1997 [JJJJ was there!]..... I was in the mosh pit then and I was at Glasto!. At nearly 30 years of age I'm getting a bit too old now to 'mosh down the front', but felt better as many people of a similar age to me were struggling with the 17 year olds as they threw us about!. Blur reformed this year and have been playing with Graham Coxon for the first time in nearly 10 years...so it was quite a momentous occasion for a Blur fan like me. They did all the classics including a frenetic version of 'Parklife' with guest Phil Daniels. Some kid in the crowd downed a huge bottle of Cider which was laced with Acid......he looked about 16.....would like to have seen the effects when that kicked in!.

Andy and I walked around the site after Blur had finished reflecting on our time at Glastonbury 2009. As we were drinking a pint of Brothers, the heavens opened and we got caught in a downpour for the first time that weekend....after sheltering we walked about and went in search of the 'Joe Strummer Stone'. As big fans of The Clash we wanted to see the memorial area set up to honour him a couple of years ago. We found the stone and 'Strummerville', an area with a couple of caravans and some Clash fans. There is also supposed to be a 'Joe Strummer fire' but we didn't find this. Instead we found a fire someone had started and sat by it, toasting Joe Strummer.

As the booze kicked in we went our separate ways again and I staggered back to the tent around dawn to get some sleep before the journey back to the Isle of Wight the following day.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My overall view of Glastonbury '09 was that it was great, though the Friday and Saturday have seen better line-ups in the past, I couldn't fault the headliners. It was a bit of an old timers line-up I suppose but that doesn't bother me. Those that have read my reviews in the past will know I'm rather partial to a bit of music from the 70s!.

In truth I didn't see anything which I really didn't like, with the possible exception of Pete Doherty. In past years there has been more clashes of what I want to see, this year it was easy for me to decide what I wanted to see and when. I think this probably represented a dip in overall quality, but its still an amazing festival which everyone should go to at least once.

Roll on next year!.

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The best place on Earth!

This was the my third visit to Glastonbury in 3 years. I arrived close to the entrance on Tuesday, a day before the gates open and a perfect excuse to 'get on it' early and start a full 6 day booze fest.

That first nite took its toll on me, I blame the heat personally, my friend swill say different.

So, Wednesday morning arrives, gates open at 8am. Suprisingly, given that my head was pounding, i managed the 20 minute walk to the entrance in one piece and after a 30 sleep in the queue, we were back at the spiritual home of music festivals.The site looks amazing without all the tents and people, just lush grass and rolling hills.

We trek to the Pyramid Stage hill, to take advantage of the fact not many people had arrived and make a perfect circle of tents and a nice camp fire in the middle. The stage is set.

After seeing out 2007 where it was so muddy the mud was muddy, and I got flooded out at 5am, it was nice to see the sun shining and the temperatures soaring. But after that first night i needed a sleep to recharge my batteries whilst my mates strolled the site.

Admittedly I wasn't impressed by this years line-up, but after missing sleeping through Kasabian and Artic Monkeys in 2007 i realised Glastonbury is not all about the music, it's the people and the atmosphere that make Glastonbury a special place.

There is so much to do, apart from seeing a band on the main stages you can find the unknown musicians at small stages and stalls dotted around the 1000 acre site, even these guys and girls get a full house. You can try out Shangri-La for the surreal, or the Healing Fields well for those that need a massage.Trash City is full of good rubbish thats been reused and made into sculptures. There are so many places to go you will not see them all.

My favourite moment this year was from Mr Hudson when he dedicated a song to the late Michael Jackson. I could see tears in his eyes and this was the moment it really dawned on me the scale of this tragedy. Being in Glasto you are away from the media and that busy life so any news is a rumour until you see for yourself.

We did have one day of rain that turned soem areas into a quagmire, but the next days sun sorted that out, the wellies went and the trainers came out, which made the atmosphere electric.

Still after 3 years Glastonbury amazes me. When you ask people who they are seeing ' Blur or Prodigy' they say Prodigy, but end up at Blur even us Oasis fans. Thats what happens there, you can't make plans, there is no time and place at Glastonbury. If you are there then your there if your not then you are still there.

Glastonbury 2009 was a Great British holiday with out the beach.

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For a mini holiday go to glasto!

Well let's be honest, Glastonbury is the festival of festivals, the biggest in the UK and probably the most versatile. When I was offered the chance to got his year (through working for a few hours a day), I jumped at the chance as Id never been before.

--Arriving on site--

Okay so I actually had to arrive on the Tuesday before the event (usually opens Wednesday) but his gave me chance to set up my tent early etc and get to know people, that was of course once I had got on to the site!! The site was huge and I was driving around it for ages looking for my route to take, I drove past Castle Cary train station twice ha-ha then realised we had gone the wrong way at a roundabout! Once I found the right entrance I got in smoothly and found where I was going, though it could have been sign posted better!Once i got to my staff compound- which was next to the punters campervans and the entrance to pedestrian zone C, I set up my tent (sort of) and dumped my stuff in and did the traditional thing of opening a beer and making new friends.

--1st impressions--

Being a worker meant that because I was there the day before, I was able to also take advantage of looking around the festival before the rest of the people arrived! This would be the only time I could actually get anywhere with ease and speed, but mainly it was so I could get at least some of my bearings! It was nice to see how clean it could be and what stalls were around etc.. Most of which were already open despite it being the day before as with 37,000 staff, lots of people were still going to be walking around!! I was impressed by the choice of food vendors; they had everything from Chinese to chips, right through to stir fries, vegan specialities and everything! My personal favourite was the sausage and mash filled Yorkshire pudding. Pricey at £6 but so worth it at 1am in the morning when you crave one!!Of course there wasn't just food stalls around, there were many different little shops selling things such as clothes, incense, flares, wellies, waterproofs, jewellery, everything really and I still don't think I saw them all in the whole 5 days I was there! Apparently there was a Ferris wheel but if there was then I never saw it! Just to show you how big this site was!

--Stages--

Okay so there were too many stages to talk about here really seeing as I didn't even see half of them!! The most popular however were of course the Pyramid stage (main stage), this of course has a lot of history behind it and had a lot of great acts performing this year, I was lucky that whilst on shift, I was opposite the pyramid stage so saw some great acts on my 7 hour shifts! Another popular stage was 'the other stage'- this was a second main stage as it were and hosted some more brilliant acts. For dance fans it was paradise as there was a whole village dedicated to dance (the dance village) and this was host to I think 5 or 6 stages, I visited two of these and they were such fun to be in with every one having a great time. The only problem being lack of toilets near this area! In total, I believe there were 23 or so stages/arenas for bands to play on/in, this is really a staggering amount. The only problem with this and the size of the site was that if you wanted to see one band after another on different stages, it took ages to get there and it was a risk that you would miss some of the set!

--Other entertainment--

Unfortunately because I had no idea where I was going most of the time, I didn't get to visit shang-ri-la and Trash city until the Sunday night and I regret this as I really wanted to see it all. Trash City was amazing, it's basically, as its name suggests, a city made out of trash! I was amazed by how they did it and it must have taken months to build! They had a club in a hotel that was made out of trash, it was just amazing. I think you have to see it to really understand how good it was really.Shang-ri-la was also amazing, but very strange. It had lots of different indoor rooms full of strange things, a cabaret club that you could only go into if you had a tattoo (yay) and all sorts of random things. I didn't see all of this due to lack of time and I wanted to go to Arcadia also but it really was amazing to see and to think that I had no idea that all this existed!

Another great place was Arcadia, but I didn't stay here long as it really poured it down with rain and the majority of it was outdoors and I wasn't wearing waterproofs!! Silly me! This was a very loud place where the djs played inside a tower host to the fire show! It was full of people raving and dancing away and I really wish I could have stayed longer, but never mind.

Silent disco was also another activity to take part in, I never did this myself but it was funny to watch people dancing away to nothing. If you don't know how it works, basically, you go to one, get given a set of cordless headphones with too radio channels on and there are two djs playing at the same time but different music on each channel and you can switch between them to dance to what you want! People watching cannot hear what you are listening too and to them it looks like you are dancing to nothing! It's very amusing but I think a deposit has to be put down on the headphones to ensure you don't steal them!!

There was a lot more other entertainment around but I listed the most popular.

--Other things--

The main thing I like about Glastonbury is that it doesn't rip you off with some things like other festivals do, for example; a locker is free, this is great as at other festivals its about £10-£15 to hire one for the weekend but here they do it for you!Also, Programmes are free, the guardian give them out on the way in and don't charge you for band times unlike other festivals where you have to pay at least £5 for them!

I also liked that you could take alcohol into the arena as most places take it off you and make you buy beer/drinks from the bars inside. Glastonbury proved that it works best to take your own in as people still liked to use the bars as well!

It also has a free kids area called the kids field which kids absolutely loved and was a great place to relax whilst watching your children!

All I will say is brace yourselves for the toilets in the arena and make sure you have hand sanitizer and lots of toilet roll and they can get pretty bad!

I hope that this review has been useful and I may add to it in the future when I remember other things!

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Where else would you rather be?

This was the place to be last summer, the atmosphere at Glasto is just electric and there is so much to do for everyone. This place is not about the music, or the arts, or the people it's about everything rolled into one package. I saw some fantastic bands last year, in particular the Ting tings - who were amazing. Looking forward to seeing them this year and great to see they've been promoted to a bigger stage. The green fields were where we spent a lot of time, getting away from the hustle bustle of the main stages and getting some cheaper, more organic food! The weather was a bit iffy for the first few days, but when the sun shone and the mud dried up the party really started! Toilets are a little unpleasent, but what do you expect with all those dirty bums walking around. All in all, the BEST way to start the summer...see you there?

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you have to go once its an expierence

Glastonbury or glasto as it is known two alot of people is a contempory preforming arts festival.It is the largest greenfield music festival in the world which happens over the last week/weekend in june. Its location is Pilton in England It was founded by Sir Michael Eavis.

I thought that it would be very fitting to do my review on glastonbury 2008 as it is the first glasto that i have been to and can give a fresh take on anybody that is thinking of going.

One of the first things that hit me about this festival is that it truly is the happiest friendliest place on earth. I witnessed no trouble and neither did anyone else i encounted along the way. It is great beacuse after all you dont pay £175(which i will go into later) to end up getting abused my some drunken idiot who has nothing better than ruin everybodys time.The amount of young children that was there, was also a big shock to me but it also gave the place a very warm family feel. which i would definalty recomend to any family who have a passion for live music to go to.

The main thing about this festival is pretty obvious LIVE MUSIC. I am an avid music fan and love live music its what gives me the passion to buy tickets to see gigs.I was very fortuante to go to a year where the line up was really good where i got two see a lot of my favourite bands.But a great asset that this festival has that there is not only music but also circus shows raves scenery and also movies on a huge screen to be seen.So if at some point you want a break its very nice to go and see something different.

The food and drink at glastonbury is what you expect chips burgers waffles cakes pizzas pretty much any type you want. A key tip i would advise any newcomers is that you look around because different stalls have different prices so its good to shop about.Also same with the drinks although glasto is the only festival that you are allowed to bring your own beer which i would advise as some super markets offer good deals on selected drinks.

There are a few bad bits i will say in this review because i would not want to miss lead anybody The line up changes every year even though there will be bands you wanna see its nice to see whos headlining which you can see a few weeks before tickets go on sale by going to the website www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.

Glastonbury is a massive place so being on your feet all day outside is quite hard on the body especially if the weather isnt to nice so there is alot of walking to do i must warn you about that.

This bit i will repeat that 175 for a ticket is cheap,picture this watching a headliner would cost you average 100 pounds a tickets so 175 per ticket for 3/4 days of music is a cheap price.

And last but is the worst the dreaded toilets i must again warn you that they are night nice but i didnt expect them to be with 60,000 people all in one place.

You can either camp of go in a camper van i decided to camp as it gave me a nice feel of the festival and would say i would defiantly camp again

I hope my review has helped you in some way and i havent bored you to much but it really is an excellent expierence weather you like music or not or have young ones i definatly recomend you to give it a try

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defently something to experience

I've been to a fair few festivals over the past few years and they have become a part of my life...i love them.One festival that i thought had to be experienced atleast once was glastonbury, so myself and a few friends decided to go, and wow was it amazing.When i turned up i was given my wristband along with a bag and a layland of the line up, which i thought was excellent as most festivals charge you for a layland.Once i entered the festival i was overwelmed by the size of it...it was massive. I turned up on the thursday afternoon and found that most of the camping areas were full, apart from the fields miles away. I squeezed into a space in the dance villiage as i wanted somewhere pretty close to areas. This is a pretty noisey area however if you are tired enough you will sleep what ver.Once i started to explore the festival i was amazed by the variety of stalls, enetertainment, areas and people. This is defently a festival for anyone and everyone...everyone has a carefree attitude and just want to enjoy themselves. It is impossible to see everything there is to offer due to the scale of the festival, and in my opnion don't organise your weekend too much as it will just go out of the window. I had a few places and musicians i wanted to see and just went with the flow for the rest of my time.I had some of the best experiences at Glastonbury and it is now defently my favourite festival ever, i will say though be prepared to walk a LOT as i takes around an hour to walk from one end to the other end of the festival with out stopping, and remember where you parked your car as i spent 2 hours searching for mine.

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best thing you can do!

2008 was my first ever Glastonbury. The only festival i had been to previously was Download festival which i hadn't enjoyed so much as i am not really a big metal fan. I got tickets for Glastonbury as demand seemed low, perhaps due to headliner choices and there was going to be a group of around 17 of us so i thought why not.Firstly getting to Glastonbury - i went via National express at Heathrow, which was really fast and we were there an hour before our expected time, £40 return, definitely worth it as its saves time and effort, you can also meet people on coaches!The camping at Glastonbury was extraordinary, you can camp anywhere. Our group decided to camp rather far from the main arena, approx 30 minute walk, however the hill protected us from the rain, which there was not much of thankfully. The bands that play are amazing, the headliners are usually quite classic but there are so many bands to see. Friday - i started the day with Kate Nash who was good, then the Subways who i had not heard much from and performed a great set, i'm now a fan! I saw other bands like Ben Folds, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, the Ting Tings, Vampire weekend The Kills, MGMT - amazing et and the atmosphere when they played the Kids was immense, people where chanting the beat and screaming for more for approx 20 minutes, it was one of those great festival moments. I didn't see Kings of Leon which i now regret, i saw Panic at The Disco instead, who to be fair were really good. We then went on the the tent opposite the Hare Krishna tent which i have forgotten the anme of, danced to some fab hippy tance then onward to silent disco!Saturday - we all went and discovered trash city and the creative area, ate at the Hare Krishna tent, which was delicious - try! Cant remember what bands i saw, i know i saw outside the other stage quite a bit, we then went and had our fortunes told before watching manou Chou, the Amy Winehouse - who was amazing a really great performance. We then got some warm cider and danced away to JAY - Z who was the best of the weekend. Then went on to the comedy tent, fell asleep re-awoke and hit the stone circle.Sunday - in the morning we accidently saw the Whip, a great band i really rate now. Spent the whole day at the other stage watching bands alike scouting for girls, mark ronson, newton Faulkner, groove armada and the zutons plus more! After groove armada got so drunk can not remember!Things to do at the festival :*Drink brothers cider - lemon and strawberry flavour are my fav!* get your fortune told / stars read.* go see some comedy* look out for suprise bands* go to the stone circle* dance at Shangra La in the bass line circus* get creative

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You had to be there

Glastonbury 2008 - My first ever glasto.

I'll never look back! I used to think Leeds fest was good till I went here!!

We used national express to get there - the prices were reasonable and we got free macs. When we got there we set up camp near the new band tent. It was great camping near a tent, and its great you can take your beer wherever you want.

There is so much to do at glasto you almost forget about the music. Everywhere you go there is something going on, and you probably wont find the same place again its so huge! There was stuff like knitting and fake marriages, decent comedians, loads of people having a laugh and getting wrecked.

It has a magic you can feel in the air, there is no trouble and everyone wants to be mates.

Oh and the music - didnt bother with JayZ but really wish I had now - sounded like he pulled it off really well!!